By Jonathan Burgher
August 19 2002

Three goals in four minutes completed a miraculous comeback for Portsmouth in a thriller at Selhurst Park. And it was substitute and former Palace player Jason Crowe who scored two of the goals as Palace’s defence crumbled in the second half.

Palace	2-3	Portsmouth
Freedman Popovic		Foxe Crowe (2)

The first period was quiet until the 39th minute when Dougie Freedman scored a superb individual goal. In a run from the halfway line he beat three Pompey defenders before clipping the ball round Shaka Hislop from twelve yards. Within two minutes it was 2-0 when Tony Popovic headed his second goal in two games from Danny Granville’s free kick.

Portsmouth created little and Paul Merson was kept quiet by the industrious Shaun Derry. Yet Palace’s inability to keep clean sheets was highlighted when midway through the second half, Pompey defender Hayden Foxe headed home from a short corner, and less than a minute later Crowe was unmarked to slot home the equaliser.

Pompey’s large travelling support were in full voice and the inevitable third came when the shell-shocked Palace defence failed to clear a number of crosses, and Crowe took advantage. Merson and Nigel Quashie were giving the Eagles’ midfield the runaround as Pompey played keep ball in the last fifteen minutes.

The biggest disappointment was that Palace never looked like salvaging a point after going behind, hence the mass exodus of the Holmesdale Road end with five minutes to go.

Trevor Francis locked his troops in the dressing room for nearly an hour after the game. With Palace being in the news for all the wrong reasons, this result rounded off a frustrating week for the club.

Jonathan Burgher

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